Welsh Highland Heritage Railway

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru
Porthmadog Station at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Location
Place	North Wales
Termini	Porthmadog Pen-y-mount
Details
Gauge	1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm)
Length	<1 mile
Stations	3
Owner	Welsh Highland Railway Limited
History
Opened	2nd August 1980
1961	Welsh Highland Railway Society formed
1964	WHR Society reformed as Welsh Highland Light Railway (1964) Limited
1980	WHR Ltd opened for passenger service
1987	Original locomotive Russell restored
2003	Original locomotive Russell taken out of service for expensive major overhaul.
2005	Celebrates 25 years of passenger train service
2007	Extended to Traeth Mawr
2008	Last train to Traeth Mawr
2009	Operational name changed to Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. Terminus reverts to Pen y Mount.
2014	Original locomotive Russel back in service.
2018	0-4-2 'Gelert' Back In Service

The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR) or Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru is a short narrow gauge railway and associated museum on the Beddgelert Siding site at Porthmadog.

This railway has its origins in the first Welsh Highland Railway Society formed in 1961. The present site was acquired in 1973 and trains began operating there on 2nd August 1980. Originally the railway traded as the Welsh Highland Railway. In 1998, by agreement, it became known as the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog), to avoid confusion with the main Welsh Highland Railway, then in the process of being restored between Caernarfon and Porthmadog by the Festiniog Railway Company. In February 2009, it adopted Welsh Highland Heritage Railway as its current trading name, with the formal company remaining WHR Ltd.

History

The origins of the WHHR lie within disagreements within the Festiniog Railway and a small group of railway enthusiasts forming the Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961 to preserve and rebuild the original WHR which operated from 1922 to 1936. Construction of the line started in the 1970s following the acquisition of land from British Railways running alongside the Cambrian Coast line at a location known as the Beddgelert Siding. A substantial works and engineering facility has been constructed on the site of the former farm that was situated in the triangle of land between the Beddgelert Siding and the Cambrian Coast Railway. The works have been expanded with newly constructed shed accommodation in addition to the utilisation of some of the original farm buildings, which include one of the oldest buildings in Porthmadog. There has been, for some time, a museum part to the works and from 2009, with construction of a new building, this has more than doubled in size.

Operations

The railway currently operates a frequent service from March to November from the main station opposite the Network Rail station in Porthmadog, to Pen-y-mount. The trains run from Porthmadog to Pen-y-mount and then on the return stop at Gelert's Farm Halt where passengers disembark to visit the museum and miniature railway.

For 2007 and 2008, an additional short section of line was in use between Pen-y-Mount Junction and Traeth Mawr Loop. This line was built as part of an agreement signed in 1998 with the FR Co. and allowed WHR Ltd. to run on the original Welsh Highland Railway trackbed for the first time. As part of the agreement, the section closed and became a construction site when the reconstructed WHR mainline from Caernarfon was connected in 2008.

Stations

• Porthmadog (WHHR)
• Gelert's Farm Halt
• Pen-y-mount

Rolling Stock

• WHHR Locomotives
• Locomotives that have visited the WHHR
  
• WHHR Carriages
• WHHR Wagons

Gallery

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

See also

• Welsh Highland Railway

References

• Various, (1961). The Journal. Welsh Highland Railway Ltd.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
• Boyd, James I.C. (1988). Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire, Vol. 1. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-365-6.

• Boyd, James I.C. (1989). Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire, Vol. 2, The Welsh Highland Railway. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-383-4.

• Hopkins, John (2003) [1999]. Rheilffordd Eryri/The Welsh Highland Railway: 1991 to 2003. Porthmadog: private print. OCLC 42445841.

• Johnson, Peter (2007) [1999]. Portrait of the Welsh Highland Railway. Shepperton, England: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2658-0. OCLC 41018741.

• Johnson, Peter (2002). An Illustrated History of the Welsh Highland Railway. Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-860935-65-5. OCLC 59498388.

• Turner, Alan (2003) [1996]. The Welsh Highland Railway: a History. Catrine: Stenlak Publishing. ISBN 1-84033-263-8. OCLC 59320829.

Videos

• Train going through Cynfal Crossing
• Opening of Traeth Mawr Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
• Pen-y-Mount

External links

• Welsh Highland Heritage Railway - official site
• The Pont Croesor Extension
• Live.com map of route